Final answer:
Will sold 75 almond candy bars and 150 caramel candy bars for the fundraiser. We used a system of equations to find that he sold two types of candy bars and we solved for the number of each type.
Step-by-step explanation:
To solve this problem, we need to set up a system of equations because there are two types of candy bars sold, almond and caramel. Will earns $1 for each almond candy bar and $0.75 for each caramel candy bar. The total number of candy bars sold is 225, and he earned $187.50 in total.
We can define the following variables:
- a for the number of almond candy bars sold
- c for the number of caramel candy bars sold
The following equations can represent the situation:
- a + c = 225 (total number of candy bars sold)
- $1 × a + $0.75 × c = $187.50 (total earnings from candy bars)
Let's multiply the second equation by 4 to eliminate the decimal, transforming it to:
- 4 × ($1 × a + $0.75 × c) = 4 × $187.50
- 4a + 3c = 750
This gives us the following system of equations:
- a + c = 225
- 4a + 3c = 750
Now we can multiply the first equation by 3:
- 3a + 3c = 675
By subtracting this new equation from the second equation, we can find the value of a:
(4a + 3c) - (3a + 3c) = 750 - 675
a = 75
Now that we know a = 75, we can substitute this value back into the first equation to find c:
75 + c = 225
c = 150
Will sold 75 almond candy bars and 150 caramel candy bars for the fundraiser.